Bakkafrost reports loss of 117 million kroner despite operating result in Faroe Islands

Bakkafrost reported a consolidated operating result of 388 million Danish kroner for the second quarter of the year, but after tax, the company faced a loss of 117 million kroner.

In the second quarter of this year, the harvest fee amounted to 84 million kroner, while the first half of the year saw 196 million kroner. In comparison, the second quarter of last year reported a harvest fee of just 30 million kroner, and 68 million kroner in the first half of last year.

“The salmon price was unusually high until mid-May but fell drastically until July,” said Regin Jacobsen, CEO of Bakkafrost. “The bottom line took a hit as salmon prices plummeted during a strike in the Faroe Islands, resulting in 4,000 tons being exported at considerably lower prices after the strike ended.”

Jacobsen also confirmed that the discovery of the ILA virus in two rings in Vágur in May led to significant financial losses, as the fish had to be disposed of before reaching maturity.

“Market prospects for the second half of the year remain as positive as previously expected. To maintain our competitiveness, we have implemented several cost-saving measures,” Jacobsen noted, particularly highlighting the temporary closure of the facility in Stornoway in July.

Harvesting volumes for the Faroe Islands reached 10,226 tons and 11,366 tons in Scotland, compared to 8,658 tons and 7,343 tons respectively during the same period last year. Bakkafrost stated that biological conditions in the Faroe Islands are healthy, with lice levels continuing to remain at record lows.